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Ok, got it. Sounds doable; thanks!

So, when they get broody (always in the favourite spot for egg laying), how do I mover her and the eggs and not have her break her broodiness? It seems that's a risk each time you move them.

I tried that. I moved her and the eggs into a small coop and she just would not sit on the eggs. I even brought the other broody over and nope. They just went back to the original location and sat on nothing.

Operation chick watch has ended. I caught one of my other hens pecking at an egg and it was rotten so I just got rid of them all. I worry they'll all just start exploding. I still have 2 broodies but not sure if I'll let them sit. I will have 2 more layers (making 11 total) come November and...

So I moved her out and she wouldn't sit on the eggs so I moved her back. Idk about these eggs. They've been handled so much the last few days and other hens keep sitting with her or kicking her out 😡

I assume the 9 of those she's on now are from the original 16. I hope it works out. I think I'm going to move her into her own coop today because too many other hens are kicking her out 😡

I was moving them off (another one was there, too, but just to lay an egg). This other hen actually wants to hatch the chicks. I'll keep moving her as the other one needs to see this through.

I've been moving the hens into their own coop when the eggs hatch. There's no way to fence off her area in the coop where she is now.

Now they're in the same nest!

So it looks like the original broody who hatched 4 babies 6 weeks ago is now sitting on the eggs and the current broody is still broody in the empty nest next to her. This is the weirdest egg watch ever! Will they coparent?

Zero experience other than what I've seen online. DH and I just returned from candling 20 eggs with my Android flashlight. 11 were definitely infertile or just laid or way behind in development so we took those out. 9 were solid enough that we figured might as well put them back under her...

I know you keep saying fro mark them but she's been on them for about 23 days so would I let her sit in some that are way behind?

They all have an odor due to that 1 rotten egg. Some felt lighter than others when picked them up so I'm assuming those are duds. Even if just 1 hatches, I'd feel better for her.

Heading out there now. I know at least 10 were laid way after by other hens and she's probably lost at least 5. She was set to hatch on the 5th.

She was sitting on a rotten egg! I just cleaned the nest up and she's taking a dirt bath. I threw away 2 more that had cracked. Part of me wants to candle them tonight and part of me wants to throw them all away. It's probably hopeless, right?

Oh, I wasn't going to bother at this point. The original 16 were set to hatch July 5.

Okay, so I finally caught her off the nest and took the opportunity to see what I was dealing with. Somehow the eggs were no longer as dirty but there were 23 of them 🤦. So, I took them all out, cleaned the nest, put fresh hay, and put all 23 back. Obviously others are laying under her and...

I like your positivity!

Yes, I've seen hens sitting on her trying to lay eggs and getting in the box a few times when she's gotten up. If the eggs are dirty when the chicks hatch, will they be ok or will all that poop and gunk make them vulnerable to disease? I'd hate to lose all the chicks, especially since only 4...

Thank you so much! I'm going to go in with gloves and pick off as much gunk as I can to limit introducing more bacteria. This nesting box was probably already dirty when she started sitting and, as lobolinda said, that wet spot in the center is probably the source of the smell. I have a...